Adolescent Users of E-Cigarettes Exposed to Nearly as Much Nicotine as Smokers

September 7, 2018

3 min read

Rachel Boykan, MD

STONY BROOK, N.Y., September 7, 2018 – A new study that looked at nicotine exposure of adolescent e-cigarette users, specifically those who use the ‘pod’ vaping devices (ie, Juul), found that levels of urinary cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine metabolism, were even higher than what has been reported among adolescent cigarette smokers.

The findings, published in the journal Tobacco Control, underscore the already growing concern among healthcare professionals and addiction experts that using this form of e-cigarette may lead to addiction and other health problems.

Rachel Boykan, MD, Principal Investigator, and a pediatrician at Stony Brook Children’s, emphasized that “the level of nicotine exposure found in our participants is alarming – it raises significant concerns about the risk of nicotine addiction and long term product use.”

Maciej Goniewicz, PhD, PharmD, of the Department for Health Behavior at Roswell Park is the study’s first author.

The study, “High exposure to nicotine among adolescents who use Juul and other vape and pod systems (‘pods’),” was funded by a grant from Stony Brook Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics and a National Institutes of Health grant to Roswell Park.

###

About Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University is going beyond the expectations of what today’s public universities can accomplish. Since its founding in 1957, this young university has grown to become a flagship as one of only four University Center campuses in the State University of New York (SUNY) system with more than 26,000 students and 2,600 faculty members, and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs. Our faculty have earned numerous prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. The University offers students an elite education with an outstanding return on investment: U.S. News & World Report ranks Stony Brook among the top 50 public universities in the nation. Its membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places Stony Brook among the top 62 research institutions in North America. As part of the management team of Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University joins a prestigious group of universities that have a role in running federal R&D labs. Stony Brook University is a driving force in the region’s economy, generating nearly 60,000 jobs and an annual economic impact of more than $4.6 billion. Our state, country and world demand ambitious ideas, imaginative solutions and exceptional leadership to forge a better future for all. The students, alumni, researchers and faculty of Stony Brook University are prepared to meet this challenge.

Related Stories

Stony Brook, NY, October 22, 2018 – In the natural world, organisms, cells, and therefore genes respond and adjust to temperature changes on a regular basis. But when scientists study genes in the laboratory, the cells...

STONY BROOK, NY, April 10, 2019 –Jiajie Cen, a doctoral student in the Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, is the recipient of national award for...

Stony Brook, N.Y., October 2, 2018 – A survey of more than 37,000 adults age 18 and over in California with health insurance, indicates that while only 6 percent of that group experienced perceived racial or ethnic...